- Michael van Gerwen is expected to be sidelined until the Players Championship.
- The Dutchman had beaten Luke Littler on Monday evening in the World Matchplay.
- Van Gerwen has had a difficult year on the darts circuit and has not won since January.
Michael van Gerwen has revealed he will undergo surgery for a jaw problem that has left him unable to “bite a slice of ham”.
The 35-year-old Dutchman has been battling discomfort for some time and will be sidelined for around a month while he recovers from the procedure, but is aiming to return at the Player’s Championship in August.
The three-time PDC World Darts Champion has also had a tough year on the professional circuit, having failed to win a tournament since winning the Dutch Masters in January.
He defeated teenage darts sensation Luke Littler 10-6 in the first round of the World Matchplay in Blackpool last night and will now face Joe Cullen in the second round on Tuesday night.
Speaking about the issue with his jaw, Van Gerwen told AD on Monday: ‘They’re going to break and reposition my upper and lower jaw.
Michael van Gerwen (pictured) has revealed he will undergo surgery to have his jaw broken and reattached.
The Dutchman (right) beat Luke Littler (left) 10-6 in the first round of the World Darts Matchplay
Van Gerwen said he had been experiencing some discomfort for a while and “couldn’t bite into a slice of ham”.
‘They are going to move my upper jaw forward six millimetres and my lower jaw is going to be moved back only three millimetres.
‘I have a huge underbite, as they call it, and it bothers me a lot.
‘However, eating also wears down your teeth and you snore more because of it.
“I’m looking forward to it too. I still can’t bite into a slice of ham. There comes a time when you get tired of that.”
‘After this I hope to put an end to all physical ailments.’
Van Gerwen racked up an average of 101.93 against Littler and both players broke each other in the first four sets before the 35-year-old picked up the pace and broke Littler’s serve again to go 4-2 up. Van Gerwen would again outscore his opponent to go 6-4 up in the second interval before pushing hard to seal victory.
The Dutchman had finished third in the Premier League Darts standings in May, with Littler claiming his first title at the event.
But on Monday Van Gerwen claimed his sixth win against the British darts star, having met 10 times previously, and spoke of how much the victory means to him after a difficult year.
He admitted that beating Littler was a great result for him because he had been going through a “tough time” this year.
Van Gerwen also said his goal was to return to play at the Players Championship in late August.
“This means a lot to me because I’ve been going through a difficult time,” he told Sky Sports.
“Doing something good and being rewarded for all your hard work is always nice.”
He added to AD that the schedule had been taking its toll on him lately and he had opted to take some time off to holiday with his family after the US Darts Masters in early June.
In recent weeks, the world number 2 reached the quarter-finals of the Players Championship 12 and the semi-final of the Poland Darts Masters, where he was eliminated by Rob Cross.